between her and his lord. He and his
wife fall in love with one another, he discovers the deception, kills his
lord and carries his wife off on his shoulders to live happily with him
among his sheep in the mountains.

We went round to his dressing-room after the performance to congratulate
him; when he began to bring the interview to a close, saying that no
doubt it was now my bedtime, I interrupted--

"If you are going to supper presently, may I be allowed to accompany
you?"

He was delighted, patted me on the back and exclaimed, "Bravo, bravo!"

It took us some time to get away; most of the company came into his
dressing-room to say "Good-night" to him, men, women and children all
came; each of the children expected some little attention, and Giovanni
playing with a child is a beautiful sight. Then there were
congratulating friends clustering round him and managers and secretaries
waiting for instructions. At last, with only about fifteen others, we
proceeded, stopping on the way for a prickly drink to cool us after the
performance, and the barman was so overcome by the honour of serving
Giovanni that we had the greatest difficulty in forcing him to accept
payment. We arrived at a small piazza where five or six more of the
company were waiting for us at a restaurant.

Tables were set out under the stars and we sat down to supper which was
the same for all: stock fish (which they called pesce stocco and
sometimes stocca fiscia), bread and wine. Giovanni kissed the loaf
before cutting it, as he does on the stage.

After supper it was proposed that we should play at Tocco. I did not
thoroughly understand the game, but it was something of this kind: Wine
was sent for and we all threw out one or more fingers of one hand,
perhaps there might be seventy-two fingers; then we were counted,
beginning with the one who had proposed the game and going over us again
and again until seventy-two was reached with some one who thereupon
became padrone of the wine. He was entitled to drink it all, but every
Sicilian is a born gentleman, so he appointed one of the company
presidente and another sotto-presidente, poured out a little wine for
himself and handed the bottle to the presidente, who again might drink it
all if he liked. But the game was that he made a speech proposing
so-and-so as a suitable person to be invited to drink, and the
sotto-presidente made another speech giving his reasons for agreeing or
differing.